A credit card is issued by a credit card provider, like Capital One, and they are designed to pay for things in shops or online. You can also use credit cards for balance transfers and taking out cash (also known as cash advance or cash withdrawal) from an ATM.

The general idea of a credit card was or is "buy now, pay later." But with new schemes like reward points, the use of credit card has dramatically changed. Now its not just to buy things now and pay later.